Sheet-feeding apparatus.



M. J. WARD,-

SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS.

I APPLICATION FILED FEB. 21,1912,

1,031,600, Patented July 2,1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET l. r

M. J. WARD.

SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS.

\ ABPLIOATION FILED 1"EB.21,1912..

Patentd Ju1y'2, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

MA E

A17 i v. I304? MICHAEL J. WARD, OF YOUNGS'IOVJN. OHIO.

SHEET-FEEDING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2,1912.

Application filed February 21, 1912. Serial No. 679,096.

To all whom "it 'may concern:

Be it known thatl, hlHHAHL J. Wain), a citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, in the county of idahoning and State of Ohio, lmvehinvented new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Feeding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to feeding mechanisms for sheet. metal and its object is to combine a rotary cooling rack with a feed table for presenting the sheets to the rack by moving them substantially parallel to the aXis of the rotary rack and directly into conshaft of the cooling rack, and 2.

veyer pockets or spaces between parallel lines of arms or spokes on the rack, so that the sheets may enter the said pockets or spaces witl'iout the necessity of changing their direction after leaving the .rollsor other shet-rt -treating a'p iaratus. By my improvement additional. mechanism or extra help commonly used to feed the sheets laterally to the cooling rack is dispensed with and considerable space saved.

Referring to the accompanying sheets of drawings, Figure 1 is a plan of my invention with a portion at the right broken away. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a section on the'linc lIIlll, of l ig. t.

On the drawings, 1 is a horizontal rotary A 2 are the pillowddocks in which the ends of the shaft are supported. The shaft. has connected thereto the worm-wheel 3, driven by the worm 4: on the driving-shaft 5. (5 is the driving pulley connected to the shaft 5 and disconnected thcrctroni by the clutch 7 shown conventionally, 'lhe clutch is represented as operated by the toot-lever 8 and the. clutch-levers t) connected thereto. I have not atteniipt'ed to show any particular form of clutch since illflltllltl of clutch or even its presence forms nb essential part. ol the present invention. The shal't: may lie given intermittent motion by various well. known means.

At selected places along the. shattmt l secure the circular wheel-like supports 10 for the edges of the sheets 11 and the attachment of the spokes or arms 12. lheso spokes have their inner ends securet'l in the periphery or rim of the supports 10 and extend out therefrom prelcrahly so as to form acute angles with the said rim at the forward side of the arms, that is, the side thereof facing the direction (it their moveare. ted to the roller teed-table 1. -3.

ment. The arins l2 are arranged in longitudinal rows so that each two consecutive rows constitute a pocket or space for a metal. sheet 11.

At one side of the rack I arrange the teedtable 13 divided into sections between the rear portions of which the arms 12 move upwardly as the rack rotates. Each section preferably has a pair of horizontal shafts 14- at right angles to the line of feed ot' the sheets to the table and at right angles to a vertical. plane which includes the shaft- 1. Feed rollers 15 are secured to these shafts. Horizontal sheetguiding metal strips 16, arranged lengthwise of the table, have their ends secured to their res ieetive sections, the tops of the guides being-slightly below the tops of the rollers and the front endsot the guides beinginclined downwardly and toward the teei'liugr-in end of the table, so that the sheets may be fed tromsecti'on to section without their engagement with the ends (it the guide strips. Each section of the table 13 has the vertical guide 17 along the, side nearest the shaft 1 to prevent the sheets from engaging the arm-supports 10, the forward ends of these guides being inclined toward the supports 10 to prevent the corners of the sheets from engaging the ends of the guides.

18 represents a table from which'the. sheets I have not shown any means for positively feeding the sheets to the teed table 123, but suitable means will suggest themselves to those acquainted with the art'- to which this inven tion belongs.

The shafts it are provided with the pulleys it), there being between the pulleys in each section of the table 13 an idler Zllhaving its lower side below the tops of the ad jaccnt pulleys. The metal belt, chain, or cable 2]: runs over the. pulleys 19 and under the idlcrs 20, around the'sheave 22 secured beneath the top ol the table 13, and around the driving iulley 23 on the shaft 24. The shaft 24- is driven from the shattQh hy the belt, chain, or cable 26, and the shatt is 1 by step movement of ,rack from the table 13 to receive the sheets 'feed rollers being rotated by power applied to' the pulley 28 so as to carry the sheet,

' which rides on the feed rollers, into a pocket or. by anyv other suitable means.

or feed space between thehorizontal row of arms 12 beneath the sheet and a row of arms a'short distance above the sheet. The sheet is stopped by engagement with the gage 29 The operator then steps on the foot-lever 8 which thiough the levers 9 operates the selected form of clutch 7 so as to connect the con -stantly running pulley 6 to the worm-shaft the horizontal row of arms 12 to lift the said ,The coolingrack'rotates so as to cause 'sheetabove the feed table 13 and to bring thenext succeeding row of arms into hori- 1 position just below the top of the table 13. .Another hotsheet is fed to the table 13 as jushdescribed in connection with the first sheet, and the cooling rack is then ted another step and the next row of arms 12 is brought into the said horizontal position. Other sheets are successively fed 'to the table 13 and carried away by the cooling. rack. When the sheets are transferred to the opposite side of the rack and arrive at their angle of start, they slide down the arms 12 onto the receiving truck or table 30.

I claim- 1. The combination with a rotary coolingrack havm its axis of rotation horizontal v and its periphery provided with longitudinal rows of arms I forming spaces between consecutive rows of arms, of a feed-table for row of arms into position to form with the preceding row of arms a space for another sheet fed thereto on the'said table.

2. The combination with a rotary coolingraek having its axis of rotation horizontal and having its periphery provided with vertical circles of outwardly extending arms arranged in longitudinal rows so as to form spaces between consecutive rows, of a horizontal feed-table at one side of the said rack, the feed-table having therein transverse spaces each arranged to receive one of the said circle of arms, and means for rotating the cooling rack so as to cause a row of arms beneath a sheet to lift the sheet from the table and bring the next succeeding row of arms into position to form with the preceding' row of arms a space for another sheet fed thereto on the said table.

3. The combination with a horizontal table having transverse spaces at one edge, and means for feeding sheets thereon transversely across the said spaces, of a rotary shaft parallel with the table and having outwardly-projecting circles of arms extending into the said spaces, and arranged in longitudinal rows, and means for rotating the shaft so as to cause a row of arms beneath a sheet to lift the sheet from the table and bring the next succeeding row of arms into position to form with the preceding row of arms a space for another sheet fed thereto on the said table.

Signed at Youngstown, Ohio, this 16th day of February, 1912.

' MICHAEL J. XVARD.

Vvi tnesses CLARA HiNnsoN, ANNA Mnrzenu. 

